title: High-resolution X-ray CT for 3D petrography of ferruginous sandstone for an investigation of building stone decay.
abstract: Diestian ferruginous sandstone has been used as the dominant building stone for monuments in the Hageland, a natural landscape in east-central Belgium. Like all rocks, this stone type is sensitive to weathering. Case hardening was observed in combination with blackening of the exterior parts of the dressed stones. To determine the 3D petrography and to identify the structural differences between the exterior and interior parts, X-ray computed tomography was used in combination with more traditional research techniques like optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The 3D characterization of the ferruginous sandstone was performed with a high-resolution X-ray CT scanner (www.ugct.ugent.be) in combination with the flexible 3D analysis software Morpho+, which provides the necessary petrophysical parameters of the scanned samples in 3D. Besides providing the required 3D parameters like porosity, pore-size distribution, grain size, grain orientation, and surface analysis, the results of the 3D analysis can also be visualized, which enables to understand and interpret the analysis results in a straightforward way. The complementarities between high-quality X-ray CT images and flexible 3D software and its relation with the more traditional microscopical research techniques are opening up new gateways in the study of weathering processes of natural building stones.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Soil Science-UGCT, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. veerle.cnudde@ugent.be
authors.forename: Veerle
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cnudde
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dewanckele
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boone
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: de Kock
authors.forename: Marijn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boone
authors.forename: Loes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brabant
authors.forename: Michiel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dusar
authors.forename: Marleen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Ceukelaire
authors.forename: Hilde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: de Clercq
authors.forename: Roald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hayen
authors.forename: Patric
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jacobs